Handling of rod bundles or the like



Aug. 31, 1943. M. MORGAN ETAL HANDLING OF ROD BUNDLES OR THE LIKEOriginal Filed Aug. 4, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l .w M mm 9 4 n 5 mm fi 5 a mw. N w mm A MJ .7 4 a u 6 v. m H 4/ N l M F l r fi B 5 w Y M A z 4 1 L LI l- 4, E m w Aug. 31, 1943. M. MORGAN ET AL J 2,328,333

HANDLING OF ROD BUNDLES OR THE LIKE Original Fild Aug. 4, 19:59 5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR-S MYLES MORGAN JOHN M. WHA LEN A T RNEY g- 1943-M. MORGAN ETAL 2,328,338

HANDLING OF ROD BUNDLES OR THE LIKE I" I Original Filed Aug. 4, 1939 5sheets-shew:

INVENTORS MYLES. MORGAN JOHN M WHALEZN ATTORNEY Aug 1943- M. MORGAN ETAL2,328,388

HANDLING OF ROD BUNDLES OR THE LIKE Original Filed Aug. 4, 1939 5Sheets-Sheet 4 r-I 6 55' -4. FL? 5 39 INVENTORS MYLES MORGAN J HN MWHALBN A'r'ro RNEY 1943. M. MORGAN ET AL 2,328,388

HANDLING OF Ron BUNDLES OR THE LIKE ori inal Filed Aug 4, 1939 5Sheets-Sheet 5 jNVENTORS MYLES MORGAN JOHN A!- WHALEN v ATTORNEY I i"into annular-bundles fconveyor and then I their fixes subst I I Itrayeljcohtinuously ata ra ther"show speed-Q The "bundlesareeventuallyfremoveq from the hooks l processing; but

' .1 assists: :mvmed This mvenuen relatesto the handling once bundles orthe like; 'and more pmmulany to the od nstruction and -arrangement ofapperatus ior handling coiled mq" bundles and similar menu.Thisfappllcation is a dl'visiomof ouriprior apl now Patent No. 2,z56;oa4, mmed se tember 23,

' Inrod mills it is thebreotiee to coil the rods anti'ally' or zontal.These hooks transfei'red *to a so-bailed hook earner comprising; aseries of suspended hooks; upon a which the bundles erelhuhg' with I itis desi rabIe I to convey them in groups to a; pla'cje of use, storage 11 or furthet the airangement of the bundles in s'uch gronpspresents e,mmcm problem.

of; a ruggeii and dependable drawn :at convenient be apparent tdthoseskilled ventlon resides in the combination of parts. set

olaln' seppended'thereto. I II t I I I Referr'ing toithedrawingsillustre I ng one emhodiment of heflinv'en'tion andln which likereference numerals indicate like pe'rt's, 3

with I I illustration; I Fig. 4 is a section km the line 4- -1 01 "Fig;1;

Fig. =6 is a wiring diagram; Flgf'l isa. section on the line-1*? of Figl; Fig.48 is fa; view ofa; Dortlon. of Fig, 3, showing a difl'eg'entpartof the cycle; and 1 I ll i'g". 9 ls a View similar to Fig. -8-showing"a,sti11 diflerent' part of the cycle.

"The embodiment illustrated comprises a hook hooks-Ire I gnu-meme homer"one objeetfbf the invention-to provide a- I simyle,-* inexpensive; anddependeble apparatus "foh-pladi'ng rod bHndI e s -or*simi1ar annu1l' ingroups to faoilitate their subsequent handling! -Ift 13 a. furtherobject of the invention to prov vlde efmchanism" natureaadaptedtoreceltie'rod bundles. 01 similsr annm'roneatetime andto arrange suchbundles 1 in'ga succession of groups which ca-n3 be withintervals ,byapparatus of the brackets I'L I I dinally by any sultable and well-knownM reen. mpany, Worcester, luass, (a, m l

'tion shown mine dra'wmgs their pomts in theair'ectlon of traveh .Forthispurpose hook is suspended Irom :a I whichyi's provided {101] alongis :hofizontarmn 204 A mnzdnm flexible cable, 21 extends 'beneetih andparallel to jthe-ra,il; this C'a bIe being suitably do'nnetfited to Thecable is moved longitu- The: hooks 4'6 serve to suta'pdrtbnndlesBerwirerod, or similar annuit which "dependwrom-the hooks "a well-knownmanner with their uses substantiellyjhbr fzontal. I I .t

' When thebunmesreaoh a; piedetermlnedqmtion they areJremOVed I Qm the.hool'c owner hooks, wh reupon they may laqSlqwez ed and aeposited in asuitable recebteole; For this 1 pu l;

rorm r -m L shegped er-aldle loeatedflbeneath L the pslthof 'thhooksandcomprising 'a n uprlght 25 join the? cranks 2'8, thecoiadleis lel arms25 direct'iona's I I lower" portion of the hack-nest 24 at substantiallyI plvota llysuppozted near thls junction point {on a.horizontalpin'Hwhioh-is II I posits nds to. nan of m-ranel cranes 2: er

ranged to rotate' 'about a, bnzenm axis 1 me back r'est In addition tothe el-rculei' mofiemen t whl'oh is im asse to "the orad'le is by ftherotaitionef the one of the cran'ks 2B {ma amused to rotate 1 about ahaxis pakrelll to the wa of-the cranks 3-28, 'lhe Ilowez-"crank I I Iradius than theinpperidmnks, enmt'earnes on of theore-mks the e a e -mesthrough the blook 31 ma the block immrtsthe desi i'ed oseil "latingmotion to the orsidle upper unqlower cranks are rotatedln the s'aimedlrectionfandihit j nism.- the carrier. lie-(Figs. 4 a'ndffi) includingafseries of hooks =16, of which only two are shown. "rhes'e arranged tomovetlln ia;-.fsub'stantlally jlts if reevendge block 3 whlchf'is freeto tum the same I illustrated the lower man]; 38. is connected to smear35' and .thelcmnk 28 thereabove is "connected" to a; gewr 186.1 :Amar

38 is between the 85 amt 36;}and 'zneshes -wtthmhthesemns. intermediatebracket H thereaty'ovej a. wheel 1 9 Inr ange d to j the pointso'f theNH The ems ya, r'ight ang-1e, and the "cradle 11s:

bracket TOD. the hool;

Y coil being arranged to control a'pairof and 30 may continue 58 isopened thecoi-l will be 111? v gear 38 is driventby an electric motor393 which unit 49.. The: rotatable cranks and the gears 1 associatedtherewith are shown mounted in a V supporting frame 4|. I V

As indicated in Fig; 4, clockwise rotation of "the cranks 28 and 30 willcause the cradle 23' to move upwardly beneath the bundle'li'the arms 25first engaging the bottom of the bundle to'lift it from the hook it. Asthe crank rotation continues 3 the back-rest 24 willmove into contactwiththa surface of the bundle-which is remotefrorn the is, connectedthereto by a suitable speed-reducing point of the hook, and the bundlewill be carried axially and downwardly until it is deposited inareceptacle shown as a trough or guideway 53 which extendsrtransversely,of the axes. of the 66. able gearing 6] (Fig. 1)' to an electric motor69. At the opposite side of the conveyor 6| from the ,-trough 43 thereis provided a stationary upright 1 plate which is conveyor." This plateis formed with a series of inclined slightly away from the notches Htherein which extend downwardly from theupper edge of the plate, thesenotches being sp'acedapart a distance corresponding to the spacing ofthe successive pairs of bars 62.

Means is provi the lower end of'the trough'fiand arrange them ingroupson the conveyorbars 62. As shown particularly in Figs. 1, 3 and 7,the bottom of the bundles. The bottom of this troughis; notched Zat 44(Fig. 1) to allow thearms to pass downwardly therethro-ugh withoutinterference,jleaving thebundle in the trough. Preferably one wall 45,of the trough is inclined slightly soythat the bundles mayleanagainstthe same,'as shown in Fig.4. Referring now to Figs. 1 and 7,it willb'e seen that the trough,43 slopes, downwardly from its receivingend, so that the bundles willroll along; the trough until they arestopped by a wall 41 extending across the lower end thereof.

Preferably the cradle 23 remains stationary in d the position shown infulllines in Fig. 4 until one ofthe hooks .16; arrives, whereupon thecranks 28 and Snare turned through one revolution and For this purposeeach a a carrier is provided with a cam plate 49 arranged to engage andclose a 39. at the "proper times.

I normallyzopen limit switch 50 when the hook.

' 39.. The cradle .23 will thus be actuated and the bundle vwill beremoved from the hook and placed in the trough 43.: Inorder that thecranks 2t their movement after the cam-plate 49has passed thelimitswitch 50, and then come to rest when they have conipletedbnerevolution, we provide a normally closed limit switch 58 to. form ashunt circuit forIthe switch 50. The limit switch 58 is controlled by acam plate. 59 carried by the shaft pf the gear as (Fig.

4) and arranged to open the switch when the cycle hasbeen completed.Before cam plate 49will passthe switch ,thereupon ope'n. Consequentlywhen the switch the motor will stop. r

. After. reaching the lower end'of the trough 43,) the bundles areremovedthereirom andarranged ingroups adapted: to facilitatetheirfurther han- 1 dling; For. t is purpose there is provided aconveyorfil. locatedclose to the trough and at the rear side thereof.;Thisfconveyor comprises a series of; spaced parallel;horizontalbars 62arranged-in pairs to .form supports for'group of bundles. 'These barsare mounted on two endless chains: 63 which pass around sprocket wheels65 carried. by-"a-pair of horizontal rotatable shafts this occurs the50, which will I trough'43 is cut away near the wall 41 tof'receive' atray l3-soplocated that the bundles will rest thereon aiter they.have'rolled along the trough into contact with the wall 4'i. This trayis arranged to move-horizontally across the conveyor 6| betweentwo ofthe barsBL'and for this purpose the tray is mounted on the front end; ofa a horizontal cylinder;- 14 which is arranged tobe movedlongitudinally. This cylinder is supported by two pairs of guide, rolls15 mounted in brackets 16 (Fig. 1) Apartition lfl (Fig. 3) extendsacross t e. cy1in r, .a isto :is moun ed w th the cylinder in the rearof this partition, the

- ,piston having a piston :rod Bilwhich extends rear thecIadle serves toremove the bundle from the v h o.ol;., This is;preferably =broughtahoutby auto matic means arranged to start andstop the motor 1 da -energized,and I 'pipe 3'! and an inlet pipe 88, the plied with a suitable fluid 1suclifas compressed air. ,By proper actuation of the valve $3, abundlecan betransported onthe tray, '13 to a position way valve 94 whichinlet, pipe 99, the

wardly therefrom 'and connects with a stationary bracket 8|. 1 Inorder'to control the movements of the cylinder M, a manually operablefour-way valve 83 is provided, this valve being connected bya flexibletube to the rearendof thecylinden and by a flexible tubeB ito thecylinder at-a point immediately in the rear of the partition 18.1;This'va1ve 83 I latter beingsup;

over the conveyor bars 52.; In order to remove and dep-osit them on thebars 62, we provid a pusher which i located immediatelyiinfront of-thecylinder! and'fconnectedby arod iii to aipiston S2 within-.lthe.cylinder and injrontof the partition [8.

The movements of the pusher 99, are controlled by a manually operable:fourto thefcylin der at a point imxi be' t i Y of the partition 18,Thisvalve front mediately in 94' is" provided With an exhausflpipetajandah' latter being supplied with compressed air or any othersuitable fluid under pressure. advance and withdraw-the pusher 9!!relative to the tray i3 ina desired manner; .1 ,v I

The operation of the invention will now be apparent from 4 hookififreaches the unloading station, the cam plate 89 will engage thelimit switch 50 and close the samathereby energizing the coiI 'BLQI-Thiswill close theyconta'ctstil, starting the'motor 33 and turning thecranks-28- and'Sll in aclockwise direction'as viewed in Fig. 4; Assoonas' the cam plate 59 has cleared the switch; 58,;this switch willolose.The cradle 23 wi1l move from the full line position shown, andpass successively through the several broken line position indicated.During this movementthe cradle will move upwardly and forwardly beneaththebundle B; the arms 25 ehgagingthe bottom of the bundle to :liftitfrom theho-ok andthe'backrestfi tipping forwardlyto en age the rear ofth buni- One of the'shafts 68 is connected byv suit ded to remove thebundles from is provided with an exhaust the bundles from the tray isconnected by a flexible tube 95 to the front end of the cylinder 'iilandby By means. of the valve d4 it is possible to the above disclosure. Aseach i the trough,

ninety degrees, as shown in Fig.

the bundle will be carried forwardly and then lowered into the trough 43without interference with the hook. The arms 25 will pass downwardlythrough the notches 44 in the bottom of so that the bundle will bedeposited in the trough and supported by the wall 45 thereof. Because ofthe slope of the trough the bundle willimmediately roll downwardly alongthe same until it rests on the tray 13. In the meantime, and before thecranks have completed one revolution, the cam plate 49 will have clearedthe limit switch 50 and allowed this switch to open. This will not stopthe motor, however, since the coil will be supplied with current throughthe switch 58. Upon completion of the cycle, the cam plate 59 will openthe limit switch 58, de-energlzing the coil 5|, opening the contacts 54,and stopping the motor 39. Uponarrival of the following hook IS thecycle will be repeated.

-As soon as the bundle trough 43 to the tray 13, the valve 83 will beturned ninety degrees, as shown in Fig. 8, ad-

mitting air through the tube 85 and exhausting air through the tube 84.This will move the cylinder 14 and tray 13 forwardly over theconveyorftl, Whereuponthe valve 94 will be turned .9, admitting airthrough. the tube 96 and exhausting air through the tube 95. This willcause the piston 92 and the pusher 90 to advance relative to thecylinder 14, thereby pushing the bundle ofi the tray 13 and into contactwith the wall"), the bottom of the bundle resting on two of the bars 62,which remain stationary during this phase of the operation. The valve 83will now be turned to its original position, admitting air. through thetube 84 and exhausting air through the tube 85,. thereby withdrawing thecylinder 14 and the tray 13.

a The valve 94 will then be turned to its original position, admittingair through the tube 95 and exhausting air through the tube 95,

thereby withdrawing the piston 92 and the pusher 90 until the parts oncemore occupy the positions shown in Fig. 3. Reaches the tray When thenext bundle 13, the valves 83. and 94 will again be actuated. Thisbundle will be depos, ited against the first bundle and in axialalignment therewith. This mode of operation will be continued untilbundles have been placed along the entire length of one pair of bars 62,whereupon the motor 69 will be started and the conveyor 6| actuateduntil the group of bundles is in line with the next notch 1| and thefollowing position to receive bundles pair of bars are in from the tray13, when the motor 69 will be stopped- .In this manner groups of axiallyaligned bundles are formed on the conveyor BI and they can readily beremoved therefrom by well-known means. 2) may be suspended from andinserted into the center of the bundles through one of the notches 1|.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for handling rod bundles or similar annuli comprising aguideway arranged to receive the bundles and inclined so that gravitywill cause the bundles to roll along the same, a reciprocable traylocated adjacent the lower end of the guideway and arranged to receivethe bunhas rolled along the i For example, a hairpin hook I00 (Fig;

an overhead crane der, means to supply dles therefrom, a conveyoradjacent the guideway and arranged to support groups of bundles with thebundles in each group horizontally aligned, and means to reciprocate thetray and transfer the bundles from the guideway to the conveyor and formsuch groups of bundles there- 2. Apparatus for handling rod bundles orsimilar annuli comprising a guideway arranged to receive the bundles andinclined so that gravity will cause the bundles to roll along the same,a conveyor movable in a generally horizontal direction, a tray locatedadjacent the lower end of the guideway and arranged to receive thebundles therefrom, the tray being reciprocable in a substantiallyhorizontal direction transverse to the direction of movement of theconveyor, and means to reciprocate the tray and deposit the bundles onthe conveyor to form groups with'the bundles in each group horizontallyaligned.

3. Apparatus for handling rod bundles or similar annuli comprising aguideway, arranged to receive the bundles. and inclined so that gravitywill cause the bundles to rollalong the same, a tray located adjacentthe lower end 0 the guideway and arranged to receive the bundlestherefrom, a conveyor adjacent .the guideway and arrangedto supportgroups of bundles with the bundles in each reciprocate the pusherrelative to the tray and thereby push the bundles from the tray onto theconveyor to form such groups ofbundles thereon.

. 4. Apparatus for handling rod bundles or similarannuli comprising aguidewayarrangedto receive the bundles and inclined so that gravitybundles in each. group horizontally aligned and .siOn of pressure fluidsides of the piston alternately and thereby reciptray mounted on theeylintheir axes extending substantially at right angles withtheyguideway, means to reciprocate the tray 1 in a direction transverseto the guideway between its receiving position and a position directlyabove the conveyor, and means to reciprocate the pusher relative todirection parallel to the movement thereof and thereby push thebundlesfrom the tray onto the conveyor to form suchgroups of bundlesthereon. r

5. Apparatus forhandling'rod bundles or similar annuli comprising aconveyor movable in a generally horizontal direction, a horizontalcylinder mounted adjacent the conveyor and extendingtransversely to thedirection of movement of the conveyor, means supporting the cylinder tfor axialmovement, a stationary piston Within the cylinder, valve meansto controlthe admisto the cylinder at opposite rocate the cylinder, a

bundles to the tray, a pusher mounted on the cylinder adjacent to thetray. and; means to reciprocate the pusher relative to theltray inadirection parallel to the movement thereof and thereby push the bundlesfrom the tray onto the conveyor to form groups of bundles thereon.

MYLES MORGAN.

JOHN N. WHALEN.

group horizontally aligned, means I to reciprocatethe tray between itsreceiving position and a position directly above the conveyor, a pusherassociated with the tray, and means to bundles with the a pusherassociated with the. tray.

